State Compensation Insurance Fund v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

WERDEGAR, J.

Labor Code1 section 5814 states in pertinent part that “[w]hen payment of compensation has been unreasonably delayed or refused, either prior to or subsequent to the issuance of an award, the full amount of the order, decision or award shall be increased by 10 percent.” (Italics added.) In this case, a clerical mistake attributing to the employee a change of address for the employer led to a one-week delay in the employee’s benefit check for her temporary disability. The workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) found this delay to be unreasonable and assessed the statutory penalty…